


autumn days swung soft around me

by agentmmayy



Series: scarlet and the spies [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AoS Promptober, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Multi, hay rides, really all the fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 16:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20915105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentmmayy/pseuds/agentmmayy
Summary: Melinda and her family go on a hayride, eat apple cider donuts, and enjoy the autumn night.





	autumn days swung soft around me

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't resist and had to write this precious fam on a hay ride. also, I adore scarlet endlessly. this is for promptober day 5: hay rides. hope you enjoy! :) also, if you haven't had apple cider donuts, PLEASE go find some and try them they are absolutely magical

Melinda glanced at her phone before looking back out at the crowd, all while trying to keep hold of her squirmy toddler. It was three minutes until the hayride was scheduled to arrive, and neither Hunter or Bobbi was back yet. Scarlet was growing increasingly impatient, whining as she wiggled to get down, but Melinda refused to let her without another pair of hands there to catch her. She switched Scarlet to her other hip, bouncing slightly to try and calm her. 

Though the crowd was beginning to thin, Melinda still rose on her toes to try and see over the sea of heads. “Do you see Mommy and Daddy?”

Scarlet slid two fingers into her mouth. “No.”

Down the road from the platform came the sound of a truck horn over people laughing and talking. Melinda chewed on her bottom lip as it neared, slowly lumbering up the dirt road. It was at least two minutes early. She turned to look out beyond the platform again. As she did, Melinda spotted a familiar head of blonde hair weaving through the crowd. Bobbi and Hunter rushed up the ramp a second later, both out of breath. 

“We’re back!”

“And not a moment too soon.”

“Sorry,” Bobbi said, ducking to kiss Melinda’s cheek. “Hunter wanted some apple cider, and the family in front of us ordered like three dozen donuts.”

Melinda eyed the plastic cup full of amber liquid Hunter held. “You didn’t bring me any?”

He smiled apologetically. “We can share?”

“Mommy, look!” Scarlet leaned out of Melinda’s arms to Bobbi, clumsily holding a small orange pumpkin out to her. They went to the pumpkin patch earlier, mainly to get a few photos since they already had pumpkins at home, but when Scarlet laid eyes on the section of baby pumpkins, she refused to leave without one. “Is pun’kin.”

“It’s a baby pumpkin,” Bobbi agreed. “Like you.”

Scarlet wrinkled her nose. “I no baby. You baby.”

“I’m a baby?”

“Uh-huh.” Scarlet nodded then pointed to Hunter. “Daddy baby.”

Hunter laughed. “Me?”

“Yeah!” Scarlet giggled. 

“It’s because I call you both baby,” Melinda explained to her spouses. “Right?”

Scarlet nodded, ducking her head against Melinda’s shoulder as she continued to suck her fingers. 

“Aw,” Hunter said. “Are we your babies, Mel?”

Melinda rolled her eyes. “You know you are.”

As the truck pulled up to the platform, Hunter reached for the pumpkin still clutched in Scarlet’s hands. With a gasp, Scarlet yanked it away. “Uh! Mine!”

“I know it’s yours,” Hunter said. “But we’re about to get on the hayride, and I thought I could put it in the backpack so we won’t lose it. What do you think?”

Scarlet hugged the pumpkin to her chest for another moment, tiny brow furrowed as she thought over Hunter’s proposition before nodding. She held out the pumpkin to him. “Bye, pun’kin.”

“Bye, pumpkin,” Hunter repeated. He took the pumpkin and placed it in the backpack Melinda had on. “Thank you, bug.”

“Alright,” Bobbi said as the truck came to a stop before them, and the group in the bed began to climb out. “You ready to go for a hayride, Scar?”

Scarlet bounced on Melinda’s hip in excitement. “Yeah!”

It was the last hayride of the evening right before sunset, and the pumpkin patch closed. The only other occupants in the bed of the truck were a few teenagers who were more interested in their phones than anyone else. Hunter jumped in first, turning to help Bobbi up. He reached for Scarlet next, planting a kiss on her cheek before passing her to Bobbi and taking Melinda’s hand. The bed of the truck was packed with hay on the floor, the bales that made up the seats, and even up to the red railings on the sides. It was tight quarters, less than three feet from one side of the truck to the other. Melinda took the left, sitting next to Bobbi and lifting Scarlet from her to place between them. 

Eagerly, Scarlet slapped her hands down on the hay, but once they came in contact with the hay, pulled back with a gasp. “Uh!” She exclaimed, mouth dropping open. “It hurt me!”

“It is a little spiky, isn’t it?” Bobbi asked. 

Scarlet nodded, pouting. “Uh-huh.”

Melinda looked at her, smoothing Scarlet’s dark hair back from where it escaped the buns on either side of her head. “You like it?”

Scarlet thought about it before shaking her head and reaching for her mother. Melinda lifted the two-year-old onto her lap, feeling the hay beneath her poke through her jeans. It was unpleasant but not unbearably so. She could see how Scarlet, with her baby soft skin and thin leggings wouldn’t be comfortable. 

“Isn’t this exciting?” Bobbi asked, taking one of Scarlet’s hands in hers. “Your first hayride!”

With a rumble, the truck began to move. Immediately, Melinda wished the ride came with seatbelts. She tightened her arm around Scarlet’s waist, and Hunter snatched his drink up before it could spill. The dirt road was by no means smooth. The truck managed to hit every bump and dip on it. Melinda experienced turbulence worse than this. When they reached the edge of the pumpkin patch and drove into a clearing with a dirt road, the ride became smoother. This part of the patch was less populated but still held a few attractions. 

Scarlet gasped as they passed a pen full of horses. “Hose!”

Hunter followed where their daughter pointed, watching the horses being led around the pen as people walked away. “I’m surprised you didn’t want to ride the horse, Bob.”

“With my knee?” Bobbi asked with a guffaw. “No way.” She looked to Hunter, eyes narrowing at the motion of his jaw. “Are you chewing hay? That’s disgusting.”

“It’s nature’s toothpick,” He defended, taking the piece of hay out between two fingers. Hunter ran a hand over his hair, shaking his head as a few bugs flew by. “Should have brought my cowboy hat.”

“This is a pumpkin patch,” Melinda said. “Not a rodeo.”

Seeing her parents’ reaction to the hay, Scarlet was ready to try it again. Hesitantly, she leaned and reached a hand down. At the initial contact against her palm, Scarlet yanked her hand back but after a few seconds, poked at the hay again. 

Melinda watched, amused. “You like it now?”

She nodded. In the span of a few seconds, Scarlet went from poking the hay to smacking her hand down and yanking a fistful of it up. The force of plucking the hay out of the bale and a bump the truck went over sent her back a bit, reeling against Melinda, who held her close. Scarlet stared at the fistful of hay she held before opening her mouth and lifting her hand to it. 

Bobbi caught her fist before she could. “Uh uh. Don’t eat that.” 

When Scarlet whined in displeasure, Melinda asked, hoping to avoid a meltdown, “Are you hungry?”

“How about a donut?” Bobbi turned, grabbed the white paper bag from beside her, and showed it to the toddler. Scarlet’s eyes lit up. She watched Bobbi give the bag to Melinda and eagerly reached for it, but Bobbi tugged her back. “Let Mama get you one.”

The bottom of the bag was still warm, and the heat sunk through Melinda’s jeans. She shivered slightly. It wasn’t cold out but, there was a breeze from the drive that blew cool air across the tips of Melinda’s ears and fingers. Reaching in the bag, her fingertips came in contact with warm, sugared dough. Melinda lifted a donut out, mouth watering at the sight of the treat and smell of apple cider wafting from it. 

Scarlet gasped and wiggled out of Bobbi’s arms to climb into Melinda’s lap. “Peas, Mama!”

Melinda tore off a bit of the donut, leaning over Scarlet. She held the piece to Scarlet’s mouth. “Open up.”

Like a baby bird, Scarlet opened her mouth and let Melinda place the torn off donut inside. She chewed it, lips smacking. 

“Is it good?” Bobbi asked, a smile on her lips as she watched her daughter and wife. 

“Uh-huh!” Scarlet nodded enthusiastically then tilted her head back to look at Melinda, tugging on her mother’s sleeve. “More, Mama.”

Hunter laughed. “What’s the magic word, bug?”

“Peas.”

Melinda continued to feed Scarlet pieces of the donut, sneaking in bites of her own. The dough practically melted along with the sugar on her tongue, releasing the apple cider flavor that Melinda craved all year long. It was heavenly. 

Bobbi watched her eat and feed Scarlet with poorly veiled desire. “What about me?”

“You have two hands.”

She pouted. “But it doesn’t taste the same.”

The next piece Melinda ripped off, she held to her wife’s lips. Bobbi ate it from her fingers, lips briefly closing around Melinda’s digits as she sucked the sugar off. Melinda cleared her throat, ignoring the heat Bobbi’s mouth sparked within her. Instead, she rubbed her thumb over Bobbi’s lips once the donut was gone. “You have sugar all over your mouth.”

Bobbi’s eyes were aglow with something other than the lights from the truck. “I guess you’re going to have to wipe it off.”

“I have something better.”

Leaning in, Melinda pressed her lips to Bobbi’s. A hand came up to cradle her face, holding Melinda close as the truck bed dipped and wobbled. Bobbi’s lips were cool and sweet, a combination that sent a shiver down Melinda’s spine. She sucked the sugar from her wife’s lips, remembering to keep everything at least PG. Bobbi chased Melinda’s mouth as she pulled back. 

From the other side of the truck came Hunter’s voice, light with fondness. “I’m feeling a bit left out here.”

“Why don’t you give Daddy some?” Melinda asked. When she ripped off a piece of the donut and placed it in Scarlet’s hand, Scarlet pinched it between two fingers and thrust it out to Hunter. Leaning forward, he ate it from her fingers. Scarlet giggled as he kissed her fingertips before pulling back. 

Hunter licked the sugar from his lips, swiping the back of his hand across his mouth. “Thanks, bug.”

When Scarlet saw Hunter’s cup of apple cider, she gasped and pointed to it. “Peas!”

He winced. “I’m afraid you can’t have any of this.”

Like all of them, Hunter typically always shared his food or drink with Scarlet except- “Lance,” Melinda asked. “Is that spiked?”

He winced. “Guilty as charged.”

Scarlet frowned. “Juice!”

“You can have some water,” Melinda told her. Shifting, she shrugged off the backpack and brought out a half-empty water bottle. Before she gave any to Scarlet, Melinda took a swig then held it before Scarlet. She tilted it to her open mouth, trying to keep it as steady as possible in the bumpy cart. Most of it ended up on Scarlet’s sweater, but she managed to drink some. 

Scarlet gave a little cough then a whine as Bobbi wiped at her dripping chin. “Thank you, Mama.”

Melinda bent down and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “You’re welcome, baby.”

The truck dipped again as it rounded a corner and rose over a slight hill, giving them the perfect view of the sunset. It was beautiful, painted with brilliant hues of orange and purple. Though the sky grew dark, the truck remained bright. The lights woven between the bars grew brighter, casting a warm glow around them. Melinda settled against the hay behind her, satisfaction settling in her chest as she swayed with the movements of the truck. The bumps and dips turned into a soothing lull that created an almost ethereal aura around them, one that only autumn brought. 

Scarlet plucked a piece of hay out from the bale beneath her. She slapped it against Bobbi’s hair with more force than necessary. “It mats.”

“It does match my hair, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Scarlet nodded. She then placed the piece of hay in Bobbi’s hair. “Yellow.”

When no parent stopped her, Scarlet continued to pluck more hay out and shove the pieces in her mother’s hair. Soon, Bobbi began to look like a scarecrow even when she periodically shook her head to make the hay fall out and hear Scarlet’s laughter. They would be picking hay out of Bobbi’s hair for days. 

“You’re not sleepy?” Hunter asked, reaching to play with one of Scarlet’s feet. She yanked it away with a giggle. “You always fall asleep during car rides.”

“The drive home will knock her out,” Bobbi said. 

“Maybe not with all the sugar she just had.”

“Don’t be such a party pooper, Mel.”

Scarlet shrieked with laughter. “Pooper!”

Melinda sighed and gave her wife an unimpressed look. “Now look what you’ve done.”

“Pooper, pooper, pooper!” Scarlet yelled, even as Bobbi tried to shush her. Her yelling soon turned to giggles as Bobbi tickled her neck. Squealing, she pushed the back of her head against Melinda’s chest, shifting onto her knees to hide her face in Melinda’s neck. 

“Running to Mama, huh?” Bobbi asked, scooting closer to poke her fingers at Scarlet’s side. The toddler squealed again, little hands gripping Melinda’s sweater as she pressed against her. 

Melinda held Scarlet close, flicking Bobbi’s fingers away playfully. “Back off, Morse.”

Bobbi held her hands up innocently then draped an arm around Melinda’s shoulders. Melinda curled into her embrace with a sigh, savoring the warmth that seeped through Bobbi’s flannel. Her gaze flicked to Hunter, who watched them with soft eyes. 

“You don’t want to sit over here?”

“Nah,” he said. “I want to look at my girls.”

Bobbi scoffed. “Sap.”

Hunter only shrugged. Melinda shifted a bit and reached out a hand to him, keeping her other around Scarlet’s waist. He scooted forward on the seat to slide his palm against hers with a smile. Melinda returned it, squeezing Hunter’s hand who squeezed back. She tilted her temple onto Bobbi’s shoulder, and in turn, Bobbi rested her cheek on Melinda’s head. Scarlet, cradled to Melinda’s chest, babbled quietly, eyes drooping as she fought off sleep. Here with her family, surrounded by the night sky and warm glow, Melinda felt a wave of relaxation and pure contentment flow through her.

The truck continued to rock and jolt, swaying them all gently, cradled under the rising moon and wrapped in the cool autumn breeze. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
